John Daly Is Concerning the Tour

John Daly really appears to be a ticking time bomb. After a series of incidents at last week's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the PGA Tour is looking into what has been happening with John Daly lately - not just as a golfer, but as a man who may be slowly withering away. Larry Bohannan has more in the Desert Sun:

He was drunk every night, some of the rumors suggest. He was either wheeled out or helped out of the after-party Friday night at Renaissance Esmeralda. He was drunk before the first party at the Renaissance that night. He was drinking after the after-party, one rumor states.

It is safe to say that as many people in the desert have come to believe Daly withdrew from the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on Saturday because he wasn't able to overcome a night of excess as believe he couldn't go on because the official excuse, a damaged rib.

Talk of Daly's activities in the desert last week has stirred up enough negative publicity that the PGA Tour is taking notice. Commissioner Tim Finchem had to address Daly's week on ESPN on Wednesday, and other tour officials are trying to sort out fact from fable.

Maggie Downs, a Desert Sun reporter who doesn't really know all the back story on John, just what she was seeing last week as she covered the Hope's celebrity parties, reported on her blog that Daly told her to write that he wasn't drinking at one party as he was knocking back a shot of something alcoholic.

Frankly, the situation surrounding John Daly has been bordering on frightening for a couple of years now. There is probably some correlation between Daly leading the tour in WDs and his drinking, gambling, smoking, and eating addictions. And by probably, I mean almost certainly.

It is an incredibly sad situation. It is especially significant this week considering that Daly's last Tour win was at this week's Buick Invitational. It was an emotional playoff win and many thought that was a potential turning point for JD. It has not turned out that way.

Hopefully, though, the Tour can encourage Daly to get serious about golf and beating some of his demons. We seem to say this once per year, but now that the Tour is looking at the situation, perhaps someone will get serious on his behalf.